Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
I have been working my way through Mathew 5, one verse a day.
Several things that struck me today, as I got to “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” The reaction that feels most intense to me right now is this:
Jesus vocalized our deepest, our darkest fears:
Our fear that we are too much of a mess spiritually to be worthy of God’s love. Our fear that all our pain, struggling, and suffering are for nothing. Our fear that the agressive people will win, that might does make right, that only the so-called strong get what they want.
He didn’t beat around the bush. It’s like there was this elephant in the room and he named it.
And he didn’t even deny it. A natural reaction is to try and minimize things. Amazingly, Jesus didn’t try to minimize the fact that we are in fact, spiritually a mess. He didn’t say “Come on now, you’re suffering isn’t so bad.” He didn’t say “You’re not meek, you only think you are. Remember that time in fifth grade when you stood up to that bully?”
He called it like he saw it. He agreed with us: We are a mess, we are hurting, we are meek.
But he then proceeded to call us out into something greater and deeper. A Reality behind the reality, a Truth worthy of a capital “T”: God love us in spite of our spiritual poverty enough to share His Kingdom; our sufferings will end; the apparent victory of those who aren’t meek isn’t the end of the story.
1 response so far ↓
outnumberedby5 // March 14, 2008 at 2:58 am |
hey Jeff,
i was enjoying the thought of you meditating and praying over the beatitudes. Then, as i read your posts i was touched at the depth of feeling this great sermon roused in you. It’s truly a great capture of many wonderful Truths.
i’m going to encourage you. Don’t sigh; it’s not always bad or critical! i love you man, it’s my job to offer further insights.
Focus on “meek”. It is a highly relational term. A person is typically, if not always, meek in response to another person or a conflict. It does not denote ‘weakness’, but does connote weakness. It is tempting to equate powerlessness with meekness. Meekness is an attitude and a condition of humility that indicates a respect for authority and for principles external and greater than the individual.
i wasn’t sure where you were going with your idea until you offered a hypothetical quote. Whether Jesus would say that or not isn’t the issue. Would he say it in the context of meekness, i don’t believe so. One can be meek AND stand up to a bully. It’s all in how you do it, and where your heart lies that’s key. And, your quote suggests a particular situational conflict that the Passage doesn’t directly support. i read it in a few possible ways; the meekness of which Jesus speaks could be either toward men or toward God, or both.
A cautionary note: it’s very hard to not look through the lens of our passions when reading Scripture. i know how driven you are by your worldview. It’s admirable until it causes a myopic look at God’s word. At the very worst it produces a proof text.
i’m reminded of something that’s brewing today in the news regarding Dr. Jeramiah Wright – Barak’s pastor. His passion for social justice issues caused him to preach something that just isn’t true. He suggested that Jesus was a “black” man (i assume like himself) being oppressed by the “white” Romans and their money and power. If that isn’t missing the point of Jesus’ incarnation TO THE JEWS first i don’t know what is. Jesus’ own disciples were remiss in presuming that Jesus had come to liberate them from the Romans with the sword.
Jesus’ chief foils were the Pharisees, not Ceasar. He had a particular disdain for those who were mishandling God’s most precious gifts (isn’t Isaiah mostly about that?). In fact, He went further and said “Give to Ceasar what belongs Ceasar. Give to God what belongs God”.
Dr. Wright is so intent on driving home his message, he’s mishandling God’s gift to him. We often do the same thing and should be more…. well, meek.
i’m not suggesting that you’re grotesquely twisting Scripture here to satisfy a deeper longing than serving Christ. i think i know you better than that. It’s actually, a very common mistake to misunderstand ‘meekness’ and the point of the beatitudes in general.
peace out
g